At Spirit, we don’t just employ the latest technology — we originate it.

Spirit develops unique intellectual property and technologies to improve our OEM customers’ products. Our research and development is geared toward the architectural design of our principal products: fuselage systems, propulsion systems and wing systems. We are currently focused on research in advanced metallic joining, low-cost composites, acoustic attenuation, efficient structures, systems integration, advanced design and analysis methods, and new material systems. Below are a few of the proprietary processes and technologies we have developed and are integrating into our products.

Spirit’s Inflexion® technology eliminates the need for fasteners. Typically, composite structures are formed using rigid tools that must be removed from inside the product. This limits the complexity and size of the structures others can produce. But with Spirit’s Inflexion technology, tooling can transform between rigid and flexible states during the manufacturing process. So we are able to build large, complex composite aerostructures in one continuous piece. This results in products that are lighter, more affordable and more efficient.

Spirit Exact® improves quality and drastically reduces the cost of tooling. Spirit Exact is a suite of technologies that allows parts to become tools. This minimizes or eliminates the need for part-locating tools, thereby increasing quality and reducing costs. Spirit Exact can streamline the design and manufacture of both metal and composite products.

Spirit’s Intelligent Resin Infusion System (IRIS™) revolutionizes composite wing structures. IRIS is a proprietary processing system for the manufacture of complex integrated composite aerostructures. The process allows for self-heated tooling for greater process control, reduced cycle time and lower energy consumption. IRIS has the potential to reduce manufacturing costs by as much as 20 percent — a savings we can pass on to OEMs.

To minimize the high cost and quality challenges associated with titanium forging and machining, Spirit has developed a revolutionary joule-forming technology. This capability allows us to minimize waste and maximize value, while directing energy only where it is needed, thereby minimizing our carbon footprint.

Spirit leads the way in NDI capability. We constantly develop solutions to complex inspection challenges. Traditionally, composite stiffeners have been inspected from the outside in, using off-the-shelf NDI equipment. But advanced, new composite designs are too complex to be inspected in the traditional way. Our in-house research and development team has developed a patent-pending technology that enables complex integrated structures to be inspected from the inside out.

Robotic Automation

Spirit's robotics team leverages existing technologies and new advancements to improve quality and reduce costs.